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Sarah Lewis Show Jumping

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Alchornes New Venture is a lovely strong yearling colty out of Doonaveeragh Emma by Colmar.  He has inherited his lovely conformation, presence and good looks from both parents.  He is a very athletic foal with a lovely bold temperament.  He has spent the past year growing up with his friends at Pookbourne Stud, owned by Breen Equestrian. He is big, strong, athletic type and looks to have a very promising future.

Alchornes New Venture

Alchornes New Venture, out of Doonaveeragh Emma by Golden Hawk, a lovely strong colt foal. "Tom" is growing into an exceptionally nice foal.  He has huge presence, is well grown, lovely conformation and is a very good mover.

Alchornes Pure Gold

2013 Bay Mare by Golden Hawk out of a Good Times Mare.  Askeaton jumped successfully in International Seven Year Old classes in 2020 and has jumped successfully CSI2* Classes up to 1.35/1.40 in 2021.  She jumped clear every day at the Sunshine Tour 2022. She is very bold, scopey and careful.  She is a fantastic mover with a huge powerful canter. She has a lovely temperament, and has been very carefully produced.  

Askeaton

BE Khalissy is a lovely looking blood mare by Colmar. Very straightforward. Very scopey, careful and bold with beautiful paces, and a particularly easy canter.  She is beautifully balanced and can shorten and lengthen very easily. She debuted at International Five Year Old Level with great success, placing at the National Young Horse Championships at Bolesworth and qualifying for the Five Year Old Championships at Hickstead.  She was placed many times at CSIYH1* Vilamoura. In 2021 BE Khalissy has progressed to Six Year Old classes, being clear 2 out of three days at CSIYH1* Chard with a placing in the Grand Prix, and clear all 3 days at CSIYH1* Wellington and 6th in the Grand Prix. In 2022 BE Khalissy has consolidated her form at 1.20 level with many Foxhunter/1.20 placings.  At Chard CSI1* she was clear every day, placing in the 1.25 speed class and in the 1.20 Grand Prix against horses with much more experience than her.  She is easy to hack out, clip, shoe etc. She is an absolutely delightful mare.

BE Khalissy

Bay mare by Plot Blue out of an Animo mare with lovely paces and exceptionally scopey jump. Currently jumping up to 1.35.  Easy in every way.

Billy Arietta

A 6 year old gelding by Billy Mexico out of a Billy Congo mare. Breakdance has made a slightly late start to his career. He is a lovely, good moving, scopey and careful horse and I am delighted to have him on my little team. He has made an excellent start at his first few shows, and is proving to be very bold and scopey.

Billy Breakdance

Doonaveeragh Emma is my horse of a lifetime. Bought as an unbroken three year old she jumped Longines Ranking Classes and won Ranking Points. She was a prolific prize winner at 1.40 and was incredibly careful and brave. She was placed in almost every CSI1* Grand Prix that she contested.
She has a wonderful temperament and has a yearling colt by Colmar (Colestus), and a colt foal by Golden Hawk. Both her sons have inherited her good looks, class, athleticism and presence. She is back in foal to Golden Hawk.  She has made an impressive start to her career as a broodmare, and is sure to bring star quality to any breeding programme. She can only be sold to an absolutely 5 star home.

Doonaveeragh Emma

Culana Z is a lovely mare by Calvados Z out of a Celana mare.  She jumped well in six year old classes at the Sunshine Tour, but she suffered a career ending injury in her 7th year.
She had two years off and she is now sound enough to make a lovely hack for somebody.  She has an excellent temperament and is easy in every way. 
We have tried to get her in foal unsuccessfully using frozen semen. We have not tried her using fresh or chilled semen.
She has a job here as a hack and companion until March when she will be available for loan to a good home. 

Culana Z

Hurricane Heidi is a very careful, scopey and easy little mare.  Confidently and successfully jumping six year old classes, 1.20's and a few 1.30's. Although she is not very big Heidi has scope to burn, she springs round a 1.30 like a series of cavaletti.  She is forward going and has a big stride, but is very easy to alter and very quick in front. She would be very suitable for someone coming off ponies, or wanting a guaranteed winner for 1.20 and 1.30 international classes.  She is an exquisite mover so would excel in dressage and eventing too. Iin 2021 Heidi has placed consistently in CSI1* classes, placing in every class she contested. She has now been sold.

Hurricane Heidi

Mark and I had a lovely few days in Copenhagen at the end of October. We walked miles and miles admiring this incredibly clean, friendly and stylish city, and we were staying in Vesterbro, an easy walk from the centre and right next to the old meat packing area, which houses some the most fantastically cool restaurants, I think we ate some the most delicious food ever. It was also a great opportunity to introduce Mark to Smorgasbrod, Danish open sandwich, one of my favourite things! Also a fascinating visit to Royal Copenhagen China and Georg Jensen - my favourite jewellery shop. 

With a nice break behind us it was time for Arietta and Khalissy to get back to work. Both came in looking fantastic and it was great to have Ellie still at home to make sure we got back on board safely.  I had a couple of weeks with four to ride, and three of them still walking on the road, so I was very grateful to have some help from Beverley Eaton, the Freelance Groom, so that we could get them all started and keep up with the clipping. They got quite warm with the mild weather. 

Lauren Andrews has now joined the team, Lauren is a lovely rider and great with the horses, so hopefully we can build a good partnership going forward - equestrianism may look like an individual sport, but that all important confidence to go out and do your best in the ring comes from knowing you have a good team behind you.

Billy Breakdance has continued to make good progress.  Sometimes it's difficult to quantify this, and certainly it doesn't always look perfect on paper, but he continues to get stronger and less naive, and is so much easier in his ride.  He has struggled a bit with getting very stressed in the lorry, but with some handy tellings off from Khalissy he seems to be getting the hang of behaving himself with the result that he has more energy for his real job. He has jumped two lovely rounds and Felbridge, and another good round in a meaty Newcomers at Coombelands so hopefully we're on our way.

Billy Arietta has now been to two shows as well, one and Felbridge and one at Coombelands.  Both times double clear in the Newcomers.  She has come back looking so strong and well, and so I'm keen to consolidate all she learnt last year in smaller classes before we press on in the New Year.

Be Khalissy is also ready to jump a small class so we're all off to Hascombe on Wednesday.  It's been really great to have two training sessions with Trevor Breen, I've missed the continuity of his training while the horses have been on holiday and Trevor has been in Vilamoura. The value of a good trainer cannot be over emphasised.  Trevor is brilliant at pushing me, teaching me self-discipline in my riding, and is unbelievably good at trying to understand most of my rather muddling anxieties.

Two sessions with Trevor have made me much more confident with Breakdance, made me realise that I have some serious homework to do with Arietta, and Khalissy was absolutely thrilled to be back out jumping again.  Whilst I'm not particularly looking forward to the cold weather forecast for Hascombe, I am excited to have a bit of a team of horses back competing again.

Askeaton is taking a little longer than I hoped to get back to full work.  After eight weeks in work Ed Lyall wasn't as happy with her as we'd all hoped, so she's had some very special new treatment, two more weeks of walking and is now moving back up into full work again.  I've had her since she was four and for the whole of her ridden life.  She's super-sensitive and super-special.  She has given me some very proud moments, she was a phenomenal six and seven year old, jumping great rounds in some huge seven year old championships, and will always have a very big corner of my heart, I don't think I've ever had a horse that I've fallen off so many times, nor one whose attitude to her own safety makes me more anxious, but I adore her! I hope we will enjoy many more rounds of jumping together, but if not she is also tremendously talented on the flat, and then hopefully will have super-talented babies.

Alchornes Pure Gold, Tom, is one of the foals in the Breen Equestrian Christmas Auction.  The preparation of the foals for the Auction has been a whole new learning curve, and it's been brilliant to be part of the Breen Team's amazing input into preparing not only the foals and horses for the Auction, but watching the amazing PR Team, Izzy & Liv from Equisportif swing into action along with Greg le Gear and Badr al Amrin from the Breen Equestrian Stud Team, and the amazing Admin Team of Chloe, Lori and Debbie in the Breen Office.  It is certainly a pretty enormous village that is putting this show on the road. Everyone should put the 14th December in their diaries and buy a ticket for what is going to be the most amazing Gala Evening.

Doonaveeragh Emma and Zarnita are home for the winter.  They are two absolutely amazing mares, they not only have won a huge amount of money between them, but have also given huge pleasure to their owners, riders and supporters. They come here for the winter for a bit of a spa break, some serious TLC and to teach us exactly how they would like the yard run, we love them and they make us giggle every day.  At 8.30 sharp each morning Emma throws her feed bowl into the yard and takes her headcollar off the hook outside the door and Zarnie starts to nicker and scrape- time to go out to the field!

It takes a huge team to keep a geriatric, and increasingly forgetful show jumper on the road, so many thanks to Mark and Lauren, my wonderful sponsors Saracen Horse Feeds, Just Equine, Protexin, MacWet Gloves and NDS Equine, and also to Casserley & Sons, Sussex Equine, Cinder Hill Equine, Chris Warren & Partners and Caitlin McCaffery who keep the horses on the road too.



Billy Breakdance - Newcomers Coombelands - 1st December

Billy Arietta - Newcomers Coombelands - 1st December

Billy Breakdance - Newcomers Felbridge, 19th November

Billy Breakdance - Newcomers Felbridge 12th November

Billy Arietta - Newcomers Felbridge 19th November

Askeaton - 7 Year Old Final Bolesworth 2020

Copenhagen

The little Mermaid, Copenhagen

Tom, Alchornes Pure Gold

Hans Christian Anderson

October & November, Copenhagen, Felbridge, Coombelands and a little bit more!

We had a fairly quiet week after Hickstead, an opportunity for the inside of the lorry to have a bit of a smarten up after nine months of the horses trying to destroy it. 

Askeaton has come back in from the field after a nine week holiday. I gave her a quick lunge so that she could have a bit of a buck without me, and then I climbed on and we went for a short walk down the road.  She was very well behaved, if rather surprised to be being made to do anything.  She had her shoes back on on Tuesday, and Billy Breakdance also had a set of shoes.  Ellie has also given him a beautiful clip, so he is looking very smart now.  He is a big, rangy horse, and is going to need a lot of food and work to fill out his frame.  Nothing is better than Saracen Horse Feeds Equi-jewel to put on condition and shine, and the results are starting to show.  Also as he begins to feel more relaxed he is starting to let down in his frame a bit.  He does get quite stressed in the lorry, and about all the things going on at shows, so we just need to keep going on little outings so that he begins to take it all in his stride.

I took Breakdance for a school at Hascombe and then had a very helpful lesson with Roger McCrea at the Billy Stud.  Since then we have been to shows at Felbridge, Coombelands, and back to Felbridge.  I think we are making steady progress.  Because he is big and rangy he needs a lot more strength and energy to hold himself together than a smaller horse. He's jumped some very nice rounds for a few babyish mistakes, and he gets tired quite easily, I think mainly with the stresses of travelling, and all the new things to look at.  But this Saturday at Felbridge I really felt the whole round was coming together. I'm having to adjust my riding a bit, and learn a few things myself to make his life easier, so it's very much a work in progress, but he gives me a great feel and is a lovely horse to have around, so definitely well worth the effort. Hopefully he and Arietta will complement one another as they are both big, very scopey, horses.

He has also had his first trip to the water treadmill this week.  We are very lucky to have Toad Hall Farm just round the corner, and Evonne and Kat are so experienced, I felt very relaxed to have them introduce Breakdance to the treadmill.  It was very valuable for me to watch him move without the impediment of a rider.  I was impressed with how good he looked.  Askeaton also went on the treadmill - she thoroughly enjoys it, and it is very good, low impact way of increasing her fitness. 

BE Khalissy and Billy Arietta come back into work at the end of this week, so life will suddenly become much busier.  They have both benefited from a lovely holiday in the mild Autumn weather.

Sadly we say goodbye to Ellie at the end of the coming week as she goes off to do something slightly different.  She will be very much missed, she's been fantastic with the horses, and great company and a very good pair of eyes on the ground for me.

As always many thanks to Ellie, Mark and my fantastic sponsors, Saracen Horse Feeds, Protexin Equine, Just Equine, NDS Equine and MacWet Gloves.  All excellent products that I could not do without and which go a long way to making life much easier.

Breakdance - Discovery Felbridge

Breakdance 1.05 Felbridge

Breakdance - Felbridge

Felbridge & Coombelands

We are delighted to work with Gillett Cook - feed merchants in Kent who serve the whole of the South East.  Gillett Cook give an excellent service at very competitive prices, stocking all our favourite brands such as Saracen Horse Feeds, Bailey Haylage and Royalspan Shavings, as well as a very comprehensive catalogue of horse essentials such as electrolytes, hoofoil etc

Gillett Cook

Just Equine deliver the very best equestrian brands straight to your door. Kentucky Horsewear, Dy'on, etc.  Really fantastic and helpful service.

Just Equine

Simply the best gloves for any weather. Never, ever slip. Climate controlled, hard wearing, sensitive. Once you've ridden in MacWet you will never wear any other brand of gloves

MacWet Gloves

I am delighted to receive support from NDS Equine. NDS is a leading company when it comes to collagen formulas for horses. Studies have shown that specific Collagen Peptides are needed, especially to help with different parts of the horse where the problems occur.

We use Equine Multi Collagen Total to support and help prevent damage to joints, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and muscles for all our competition horses and for Askeaton, who has had a bone bruise, Equine Bone-X which is a unique, especially developed collagen peptide for incorporation into bone tissue, which supports microarchitecture and permits mineralisation to take place in a normal way.  This helps ensure that her injury is fully healed and continues to be supported.

I also take Ezy-Move, for humans, myself, and have found it very effective in helping the function of my arthritic shoulders.

NDS Equine

Excellent supplements, ranging from very effective calmers, to joint supplements, gut support, etc. Camilla Zanna is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Premier Performance CZ

We started using Protexin Acid Ease in April 2021 with dramatic results on two of our mares, Askeaton and BE Khalissy.  Almost immediately they appeared more comfortable to saddle up, less irritable to the leg and generally happier. We also use Quick Fix when travelling which we have found to be very beneficial on longer, more stressful journeys. We also use Gut Sponge for any horses that have an upset stomach due to stress or change in diet.

Protexin

Saracen is simply the best horse feed on the market.  We have fed Saracen for 20 years.  We feed Releve Cubes for most of the horses, these are cereal free, non-heating, and suitable for all horses. They are especially good for horses that are prone to tying up. We use Competition Fit Cubes for horses requiring a bit more energy. All the horses have Stamm 30 feed balance and Saracen Molassed Chaff. The brood mares and young stock have either Mare Care or Level Grow, depending on the time of year and support required. For any horses requiring more calories or top-line we use Equijewel. Saracen also have excellent, free nutritionist advice.

All Horses9